About the Club

The Last Chance Nordic Ski Club is Helena’s hometown cross country ski club. Membership is open to cross-country skiers of all abilities, and we encourage all skiers to enjoy the Club’s grooming on the MacDonald Pass and Bill Roberts trails. Named for Helena’s famous gold-bearing Last Chance Gulch, LCNSC began in the 1980s as an informal group of local Nordic skiers, whose duties included overseeing the MacDonald Pass Nordic ski trails. In 1996 we incorporated under the laws of the State of Montana as a public benefit corporation for the purpose of encouraging and supporting cross country skiing in Helena, MT.

What We Do

We groom about fourteen kilometers of trails on MacDonald Pass; these trails unfold just east of the Continental Divide, about fifteen miles west of Helena. When we’re able to do so, we also groom about four kilometers of track on the in-town Bill Roberts Golf Course. We groom Mac Pass and the Golf Course, when snow-depth permits, for both classic and skate skiing. Skiers of all abilities are welcome on either trail, and skiing is free. To defray grooming and other expenses the Club welcomes skiers to become a Last Chance Nordic Ski Club member or make donations. There’s a lot of work done year-around, behind the scenes, to make the MacDonald Pass trails and the Golf Course tracks skiable. Besides grooming four to six days a week, there are snow-machines, rollers, and ginzu’s that need to be purchased and maintained; trails to be kept free of trees, branches, stones, and grass; signs to be erected; maps to be updated; this website to be maintained; restrooms to be maintained and cleaned; grants to be sought and procured; parking lots to be plowed out; and many other large and small but vital tasks. About half the grooming is paid, all other work is done by club members volunteering. Four or so Saturdays a year, our Youth Skiers program provides kids, ages three to twelve, with a couple hours of fun on the snow alongside volunteer instructors and parents while they improve their cross country skiing skills. A weekly Master Skiers program, open to all skiers of all abilities, brings continuing cross country ski education to the eighteen-plus years-old set.

Email List

To help members communicate about regional races, exchange trail condition reports, share rides, sell XC ski gear, and so forth, LCNSC moderates a Yahoo email list. Club members are automatically signed up when they join or renew their membership. At the bottom of each email list message are directions, giving members instructions for opting out.

Organization and Governance

The Last Chance Nordic Ski Club is a Montana non-profit corporation and a federal 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation. The Club’s Taxpayer Identification Number is 80-0022948.

All the Club’s efforts are funded by membership contributions, grants, and donations. LCNSC has a volunteer board of directors and volunteer program coordinators, and others giving of their time and talents. We’re governed by several documents, including Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. All club meetings are open, subject to Montana law. The Club has no paid officers or year-around employees, but does pay part-time groomers to groom generally four days a week.

Board Officers and Members

Board meetings are open to all. Meeting times, agendas, and minutes are posted on this website.

President – Stan Bradshaw

Vice President – Bruce Newell

Secretary – Chapin Storrar

Treasurer – Cliff Sheets

Member of the Board – Peter Brumm

Member of the Board – Robert Ray

Member of the Board – DeeAnn Cooney

Coordinators

Communications – Bruce Newell

Equipment Maintenance – Emmett Purcell

Forest Service Agreements – Stan Bradshaw

Fund Raising – Vacant

Golf Course – Dave Dalthorp

Grants – Cliff Sheets

Grooming – Emmett Purcell

MacDonald Pass Trails – Dave Holien

Master Skiers Program – Scott Gercken

Special Events – Vacant

Trails – Peter Brumm

Youth Skiers Program – Pete Behrends

Partners and Supporters

“Sweet-smelling toilet” being swung onto vault.

The Helena National Forest provides invaluable support and guidance, as well as a conditional use permit for grooming and maintaining the Mac Pass trails.

We work closely with the City of Helena Parks Department so, when there’s sufficient snow in town, we can groom classic and skate ski tracks on Bill Roberts Golf Course.

The Club is grateful to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks for their support. For example, the new “sweet-smelling toilet” planted in 2013, was made possible with the support of both the Helena National Forest and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

Come down, buy an pint, and talk nordic skiing with your fellow club members. Welcome in the upcoming nordic ski season; may it snow long and deep!

Ten Mile Creek and the Blackfoot Breweries will donate $1 to Last Chance Nordic Ski Club, for every pint purchased. LCNSC will also be accepting membership payments for the 2018-2019 ski season. Memberships are $25 for individuals, $50 for families. These funds help support trail maintenance and grooming both up on MacDonald Pass (in cooperation with the USFS), and when there’s snow (as there was last year, wow, what a year!) grooming at Bill Robert’s Golf Course (in cooperation with the City of Helena, Parks and Rec Departement).

Helena’s 2017—18 cross-country ski season was extraordinary. And for your nordic ski club, expensive. On May 3—4 you’ll have the opportunity to, via ‘Greater Helena Gives’, donate online to your Last Chance Nordic Ski Club, and help us bring you another great year.

On May 3rd & 4th, LCNSC will join other area non-profit organizations for a day of local giving. As part of ‘Greater Helena Gives’, from 6:00 pm Thursday the 3rd, through 5:59 pm Friday the 4th, please donate to LCNSC and keep Helena cross-country skiing.

This year’s XC skiing was great because we had great snow, and lots of it. Helena skiers enjoyed a record 90 consecutive days of skiing on Bill Roberts Golf Course. MacDonald Pass XC Ski Trails were kept groomed all season long, and because they were groomed, are still delightfully tourable.

With this exceptional year came extra expenses. We paid more for more gas, for more groomer salaries, and for more equipment repairs and replacement. It’s true, LCNSC enjoys generous grant support from local charities, the Forest Service Helena District, and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Helena’s City Parks & Recreation is a great partner. And this year LCNSC members donated over 700 hours of volunteer labor. But when all is said and done, it’s your donations and membership dues that keep Helena’s XC ski trails groomed.

Celebrate this year’s fabulous Helena-area XC skiing while doing your part to help insure a wonderful upcoming season. On May 3 & 4, please make a donation on the ‘Greater Helena Gives’ website to Last Chance Nordic Ski Club. Your gift will help keep Helena’s cross-country ski trails well groomed and free to everyone.